Scottish Executive

Air Services

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of British Airways or its franchise partners to discuss the cost of flights within Scotland.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive meets airlines, including British Airways and its franchise partners, on a regular basis to discuss a variety of issues including the cost of flights. The last meeting with British Airways was on 11 June 2001.

Care of Elderly People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16178 by Jackie Baillie on 14 June 2001 and with reference to The Housing Needs of Elderly People in Scotland by Hart and Chalmers and published in 1990, whether it will provide details of any more recently commissioned reports on such needs and, if there are no such reports, whether it will now commission such a report.

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive has not published any further research on very sheltered housing since its 1991 report entitled The Housing Needs of Elderly People in Scotland and is not aware of any other research on this specific area of housing. There are no plans to commission any further reports at this time while we consider the various elements of care mosaic through the work of the Care Development Group, the Regulation of Care Bill, the consultation on the Long Term Care Bill and the implementation of Supporting People . All have implications about how and where care is offered to older and disabled people and will inform expectations about future needs for sheltered and very sheltered housing.

E.coli

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the report of the joint Executive/Food Standards Agency Task Force on E.coli 0157.

Susan Deacon: The task force delivered its report to me on 29 June, I have published it today, and it is available in the Parliament’s reference centre. The Food Standards Agency and the Executive are now actively considering how best the recommendations can be taken forward.

Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that Scottish Borders Council is considering (a) cutting £65,000 from its footwear and clothing grant fund, (b) cutting £40,000 from its further education bursaries budget, (c) cutting £10,000 from its budget for grants to village halls and (d) substituting sandwich lunches for school meals, along with various other measures, in order to address the projected £3.9 million overspend in the council’s education budget and, if so, what action it will take.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-16415 on 3 July 2001.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to publish in its next annual social justice report (a) details of current levels of school truancy and exclusions and (b) any associated targets.

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive is committed to reporting annually on our progress in achieving our social justice targets and milestones, which includes the milestone of reducing by one third the days lost every year through exclusions from school and truancy. Data for 1999-2000 will be reported in the next Social Justice Annual Report.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current target is for the reduction of exclusions and truancy in schools and what the timescale is for achievement of this target.

Mr Jack McConnell: The target of reducing by one third of the days lost every year through exclusions from school and truancy is set out in Milestone 10 in the Social Justice Action Plan. No timescale is specified in this target, but I expect education authorities to deliver year-on-year improvements. The recent report of the Discipline Task Group made a number of recommendations which will help to reduce exclusions and truancy. Headteachers should continue to use exclusion as a last resort, but our efforts need to concentrate on positive learning environments for young people. Targets will now be set with this in mind.

External Affairs

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister or the Minister for External Affairs will attend the Conference of Constitutional Regions in Liege on 25 November 2001 and, if so, what related initiatives it intends to participate in.

Mr Jack McConnell: The second Conference of Presidents of regions with legislative power, held under the auspices of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, is scheduled to take place in Liege on 15/16 November of this year. The Deputy First Minister attended the first such conference in Barcelona last November. A decision about the Executive’s representation at this year’s event will be taken nearer the time when the details of the conference and the agenda have been finalised.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for a ministerial statement on the outcome of the Fisheries Council on 18 June 2001.

Rhona Brankin: I have no plans to make a statement about the outcome of the recent Fisheries Council. I have reported to Parliament by means of a parliamentary question. I have also written to the Conveners of the Rural Affairs Committee and the European Committee.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made towards reopening auction markets in Highlands and Islands in time for the 2001 store lamb crop to be sold before the summer grass ends and what provision it is making to avoid animal welfare problems and hardship for hill farmers and crofters should these markets not be opened in time.

Ross Finnie: Careful consideration is being given at present to the possibility of some transactions through markets being permitted this autumn. I understand the need for this and have sympathy with the difficulties of moving large numbers of animals without some involvement of markets. I cannot give any assurances until the options have been assessed fully, however.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is actively investigating the possibility of a phased lifting of the ban on meat and livestock exports to enable areas dependent on exports that have been completely free of foot-and-mouth disease to resume export trade at the earliest opportunity.

Ross Finnie: The Executive, in conjunction with other agricultural and interested departments, is examining options for a return to export status for meat, meat products and live animals. I recognise the pressure for an early, and possibly staged, resumption of trade abroad from areas of Scotland that have been free of foot-and-mouth disease. It is likely that Europe will set very tough conditions before exports can resume.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure the continuation of the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme in order to provide a safety net for those farmers and crofters whose traditional markets for ewes and lambs have been closed due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Ross Finnie: The Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme was introduced to alleviate welfare problems arising from the movement restriction imposed during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. I am concerned about the prospects for the sheep and lamb trade over the remainder of the year; however, I am actively exploring with other UK Agriculture Ministers possible means of addressing the position.

Genetically Modified Seeds

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the follow-up will be to the proposals published by the European Commission in January for legislation controlling the presence of GM seeds in the seed of conventional species.

Ross Finnie: We have consulted Scottish organisations on these proposals. In the meantime, the commission has produced a working paper with revised proposals in the form of draft legislation. A summary of the revised proposals is being made available for consultation and copies will be available in the Parliament’s reference centre. The Executive has an open mind on the commission’s proposals and will take into account all the views that are expressed before finalising our position.

  The revised proposals include maximum thresholds for the presence of GM material in conventional seeds, breaks in crop production to limit the possibility of GM volunteer plants, isolation distances to prevent cross-pollination and labelling requirements for seeds of GM varieties.

Highlands and Islands Airports

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it retains an assessor on the board of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd; if so, what responsibilities the assessor has and to whom the assessor is accountable.

Sarah Boyack: Yes, the Scottish Executive retains an assessor on the board of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL). The role of the assessor is to represent the Scottish ministers’ interests, as shareholder, at board meetings and to advise the board on aspects of the Executive’s policy which are relevant to the board’s discussions. The assessor, who is not a member of the board and does not vote at board meetings, is appointed under HIAL’s Articles of Association and is accountable to the Scottish ministers.

Highlands and Islands Airports

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who the board members of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd are, specifying in each case the length of their term of office and their date of appointment.

Sarah Boyack: The information is as follows:

  


HIAL Board Members 
  

Length of term of office 
  

Date of Appointment 
  



Mr A Matheson OBE, Chairman 
  

3 years 
  

1 March 2001 
  



Mr R Macleod, Managing Director 
  

2 years 
  

9 June 2000 (reappointment) 
  



Mr F Hamilton* 
  

3 years 
  

1 August 1998 (reappointment) 
  



Mr W Brackenridge 
  

3 years 
  

1 December 1999 
  



Mr S Edmond 
  

3 years 
  

1 April 2000 
  



Mr G Johnston OBE 
  

3 years 
  

1 March 2001 
  



Ms S MacLennan 
  

3 years 
  

1 March 2001 
  



  *Mr Hamilton’s appointment expires on 31 July 2001.

Housing

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether special funds will be made available to local authorities for the replacement of old or dangerous windows in local authority housing.

Jackie Baillie: Window replacement in local authority housing is funded through councils’ Housing Revenue Account capital programmes. There are no special funds available for this purpose.

Housing

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any guidance is given to local authorities regarding the replacement of old or dangerous windows in local authority housing.

Jackie Baillie: All window replacement must comply with the Building Standard (Scotland) Regulations 1990-1999. No specific guidance is given by the Executive regarding the replacement of old or dangerous windows in local authority housing.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-15933 and S1W-16185 by Mr Jim Wallace on 5 and 19 June 2001 respectively, why budgetary issues do not fall within the scope of those parts of the remit of the Criminal Justice Forum which require it to take an overall view of the issues facing the criminal justice system as a whole and to advise Scottish ministers on issues of concern to the criminal justice system as a whole.

Mr Jim Wallace: While there is no bar to members of the Criminal Justice Forum expressing views on resource aspects of issues affecting the criminal justice system, the main purpose of the forum is to consider general issues of criminal justice but not the budgets of Scottish criminal justice agencies.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16185 by Mr Jim Wallace on 19 June 2001, what issues of concern the Criminal Justice Forum has raised to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: The forum has discussed or is continuing to discuss the Report of the McLean Committee on Serious Violent and Sexual Offenders, fines enforcement, the implications of the European Convention on Human Rights on the criminal justice system, the use of short sentences, alternatives to custody, violent crime and youth crime.

Nuclear Submarines

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had discussions with Her Majesty’s Government regarding the environmental implications of the disposal of material from nuclear-powered submarines.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive is in contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues including the environmental implications of the disposal of material from nuclear-powered submarines.

Planning

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the way in which each of the public consultation exercises regarding the extension of the Lingerton landfill site undertaken since January 2000 has been carried out.

Lewis Macdonald: The arrangements for holding public consultation exercises on planning applications are entirely matters for the council concerned.

Recycling

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what its targets were for the recycling of office materials, (b) how much was recycled in each year since May 1999, and (c) what its future targets are.

Angus MacKay: In 2000-01 the Scottish Executive achieved its target of recycling 25% of waste from the main Scottish Executive buildings. The new target is to achieve 50% recycled waste by March 2002. The table shows waste collected and recycled from the main Scottish Executive buildings.

  

 

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Total Waste 
  

30,688 bags 
  

820.027 tonnes 
  



Recycled waste 
  

13,052 bags 
  

309.342 tonnes 
  



  Figures for each year are not comparable because of a change in waste contractor between 1999-2000 and 2000-01. The previous contractor used to count the number of bags uplifted and did not consistently weigh the contents of the bags. The new contractor provides us with information about the weight of waste removed and recycled. We believe this to be a more appropriate way of measuring waste and recycling.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many posts have been transferred from offices within the former regional structure of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to their corporate office in Stirling following the new appointments made to the agency.

Rhona Brankin: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The information is not held centrally.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what new appointments have been made to the senior management team of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Rhona Brankin: Since June 2000, the only new appointment to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) central management team was that of Dr Campbell Gemmell to the post of Strategic Planning Director in April 2001. There have been two retirements during the same period, resulting in an overall reduction in the number of Directors, so that the team now comprises the Chief Executive and four Directors. The only appointment to the SEPA Board during the past 12 months was that of Mrs M. Patricia Henton, on her promotion to the position of SEPA Chief Executive in October 2000.

Social Work

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-15960 by Iain Gray on 19 June 2001, whether the support services available to people who have been wrongly convicted of a crime on their release from custody are identical to the services offered to offenders on their release.

Iain Gray: The statutory provision under section 27(1) (c) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 places a duty on local authorities to provide voluntary assistance on release from custody. The provision does not make any distinction between different categories of people being released.

  If the member cares to write I would be happy to look into any specific circumstances.